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YOLO DUI CLINIC

Parking around the courthouse in Woodland is mostly free. If you arrive 30 minutes early you have a very good chance of finding a great parking spot. Shaded by large trees in the summer and close enough that you won’t get soaked by the rain in the winter. The best parking spots are located on 3rd Street between North Street and Court Street. Department 9, where most misdemeanor DUI cases are handled, is not located in the main courthouse. It is housed at 213 3rd Street, in a single story building, immediately east of the main court building.

There is a single metal detector in a hallway before you enter Department 9. It’s a little more friendly here than many courts but you’ll still need to remember to leave anything that could be considered a weapon in your car. Heavier metal pieces like belts, zippers, buttons and shoes with metal toes or supports will probably set the machine off. If it is just your shoes the bailiff may allow you to pull up the legs on your pants, enough so he/she can see that you don’t have a hidden weapon.

After you pass the metal detector, you’ll see a white piece of paper, on your right, which is titled “Advisement of Rights-Misdemeanors.” Read it while you are waiting for your case to be called. Don’t fold it up, as you may very well be asked to sign the back and return it to the court this very morning.

There are a total of sixty-five (65) seats in this courtroom. The first row is for Attorneys and Interpreters. It is best to sit as far forward as you can to avoid the noise coming from the back office. You will not hear it when you first arrive but it becomes distracting as people go back there to work out the details of their payment of fines.

From your seat in the courtroom the Judge is easy to identify. The Court Clerk sits to the left of the Judge at a table that appears to be about six inches lower than the Judge’s. When one or more District Attorneys arrive between 8:30 and 9:00am, they will take seats closest to the Court Clerk. There should be at least one Public Defender in court when the Judge calls the calendar. The Public Defenders usually sit at the far left of the long table in front of the railing. You will also see them moving around, sitting in the front row in the area where you are seated and outside the courtroom talking to clients. The Bailiff wears a uniform and is also easy to identify.

Department 9 opens around 8:00am. Be on time! Court starts right at 8:30am with a very short video, which plays on a monitor that sits up high on the left side of the courtroom. On the video a Public Defender gives some information about your rights and their services. On the same video, a Judge gives an explanation about the Advisement of Rights paperwork you picked up in the hall before you entered the courtroom.

The Bailiff will announce that the Judge is coming out and you’ll be asked to rise from your seat and then told to sit down after the Judge takes the bench. Almost immediately the Judge will start calling cases. When your name is called get up and walk to the podium, which is located just in front of the railing. If the Judge calls your name twice and you are not present, a warrant will be ordered. On the date of the writing of this article, the court had a short calendar and the Judge was issuing warrants by 8:50am. As I said before, be on time!

When you are called to the podium, the Judge will read the charges to you and tell you what the District Attorney’s offer is to settle your case this same morning. The Judge will explain the penalties in moderate detail and ask you if you want the offer or would like to talk to an attorney first.

If you decide to take the offer, the Bailiff will ask you to take a seat at the long table to the left of the podium. He/she will then give you a plea form and ask that you read and sign it. When you have completed the form he/she will deliver it to the Judge and your case will be called again.

If you have chosen to resolve your case, assuming there are fines imposed, you’ll need to go to an office in the back of the courtroom to set up payment arrangements. Fines in Yolo County for a first time DUI offense are about $2900.00, which is more than any other county I have been to. You will have already agreed to a specific monthly amount with the Judge. The person in the back room deals with paperwork and gives you an explanation of what happens or what to do, if you fail to pay as agreed.

Some number of days of jail time will likely have been imposed and the Judge will give you a specific turn in date, in case you choose not to do Work Project instead. Work project, or Sheriff’s Working Inmate Program as it is called in Yolo County, is more expensive than other counties. They will also require a valid ID along with your court papers. If you do not have a valid California Drivers License, California Identification Card or other Government issued identification they will not accept you. As a precaution, if your DUI is in Yolo County, I suggest you go to DMV and get a California Identification Card to avoid any unnecessary anxiety later. If you fail to apply for and get accepted to the work project program, you’ll need to be prepared to turn yourself in at the jail on the date agreed to in court. Unfortunately, signing up for the work project program can’t be done on the same day as court in this county. This is more than a little inconvenient for those who work weekdays. If missing work is a problem, you may want to consider hiring a private attorney and eliminate one or more days of lost wages. You can’t immediately go the Sheriff’s Work Project Facility to sign up because they are not located near the courthouse and don’t have their copy of the court papers. When you do go to sign up, know that it takes more than a few minutes and you will be directed to another location, which is too far to walk to, for the purpose of making a payment.

If you say that you’d like to talk to a lawyer, the Judge will ask if you can afford one. If you say no, a Public Defender will likely be appointed. The Judge did not ask any questions, on the date of the preparation of this information, about anyone’s financial ability to pay. That may be left for the Public Defender to determine. At 8:30am there is a single Public Defender. As cases are called and their office is appointed, additional Public Defenders come in to assist with talking to new clients. If you wish to hire a Private Attorney, rather than use the services of the Public Defender, you should inform the court at this time.

The Criminal Courts do not deal with DMV issues regarding license suspensions or restrictions on a regular basis. It would not be wise, therefore, to rely on the court for advice in this area. You will want to contact a Private Attorney that regularly handles DMV licensing issues as they relate to DUIs.

It is difficult or impossible to give advice without the specific facts of a case. If you are uncomfortable with the reason law enforcement came into contact with you, trust your instincts and seek legal advice. Blood alcohol test results are not always correct. The blood draw is done by a person that may or may not be qualified to do so. The blood is analyzed by yet another person at a separate location. Breath testing devices are machines that rely on people to make sure they are operating as designed. Police reports are written by people that have to justify why they made the decision to arrest you. In all these instances people are involved. People make mistakes. Have they made any in your case? While I know what you really want is great results, at the front end you may need to be satisfied with the peace of mind provided by having a lawyer that deals with this area of law looking out for your interests.